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Other Thinktanks and Ideas Labs
You can find details of other organisations and think tanks focussing their attentions on culture, museums and the
arts below.
Demos:
www.demos.co.uk
Demos calls itself ‘a greenhouse for new ideas which can improve the quality of our lives.’ It’s an independent think-tank which aims to create an open resource of knowledge, connecting thinkers, researchers and policy-makers. Most publications can be downloaded for free. You can access the most relevant recent publications to museums, galleries and culture by following the links below:
Capturing cultural value: How culture has become
a tool of government policy, by John Holden, 2005
www.demos.co.uk/catalogue/culturalvalue
The Right to Art, by Robert Hewison
and John Holden, 2004
www.demos.co.uk/catalogue/datelist.aspx
Valuing Culture: Event speeches, John Holden, 2003
Proceedings of an event held at the national Theatre on 17th June 2003 organised by Demos in partnership with the National Gallery, the National Theatre and AeA Consulting.
 www.demos.co.uk/catalogue/valuingculturespeeches
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)
www.ippr.org.uk
A leading thinktank in the UK. They produce policy analysis, reports and generate new and challenging ideas on a number of issues, including culture. Recent reports connected to museums and culture include:
For Arts Sake, Jamie Cowling, 2004
http://www.ippr.org.uk/ecomm/files/artssakesum.pdf
Comedia
www.comedia.org.uk
Comedia is a ‘workshop’ or thinktank for new ideas
about urban policy and culture. It acts as an advisor to government and policy makers, and as a facilitator of innovative thinking. Recent reports include:
Culture at the Crossroads, Charles Landry and Marc Pachter, 2001.
Opening the china cabinet: Museums, Inclusion and Contemporary Society, François Matarasso.
A speech for the Museums Association conference,
October 2000.
www.comedia.org.uk/downloads/OPENIN-1.DOC
The Campaign for Learning
www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk
An organisation working for an inclusive society in which learning is valued and accessible to everyone. They produce research findings and reports on many aspects of learning, and organise high profile campaigns and promotions such as Family Learning Weekend.
The New Economics Foundation
www.neweconomics.org
NEF is leading the debate about how we value society
and the environment, and how it’s possible to value it differently for the sake of our future. They touch on ideas that are vital to museums like democracy, well-being,
and measuring what’s really important, not what’s easy
to count.
The Fabian Society
www.fabian-society.org.uk
The Fabian Society is interested in the big themes of democracy, social justice, the power and role of the state, the economy and globalisation. Their work on these big issues revolves around publications and events to get to grips with the future of centre-left thinking in Britain.
These issues affect everyone and all institutions, including museums and, like the other think-tanks in this area, the Fabian Society offers a window on the future that museums can discuss
The Ford Foundation
www.fordfound.org
Straying outside UK borders when it comes to ideas is often revealing, especially in the U.S.A. from which, for better or worse, we often import technological, business, and even cultural trends. The Ford Foundation’s work in the areas of society, culture, and the arts is a helpful window on thinking across the Atlantic for museum people who want to get an international flavour of ideas in these fields.
Museums and Heritage Organisations
The Museums Association
www.museumsassociation.org
The Museums Association represents the people and institutions constituting Britain's museums and galleries. Established in 1889, the MA is the oldest museums association in the world.
Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)
www.mla.gov.uk
The national development agency for museums, libraries and archives in the UK. It provides strategic leadership and acts an advocate for the museums, libraries and archives sectors.
Regional agencies
Each of the regions has an organisation responsible for providing strategic leadership to museums, libraries and archives in its area. You can find out more about the agency local to you by clicking on the links below:
CyMAL - Museums Archives and Libraries Wales
www.cymal.wales.gov.uk
East of England Museums Libraries and Archives Council (EEMLAC)
www.eemlac.org.uk
East Midlands Museums Libraries and Archives Council
www.emmlac.org.uk
Archives, Libraries, Museums (ALM) London
www.almlondon.org.uk
Museums Libraries and Archives West Midlands (MLA West Midlands)
www.mlawestmidlands.org.uk
North East Museums Libraries and Archives Council
www.nemlac.co.uk
Northern Ireland Museums Council
www.nimc.co.uk
Museums Libraries Archives North West (MLA North West)
www.nwmlac.org.uk
Scottish Museums Council
www.scottishmuseums.org.uk
South West Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (SWMLAC)
www.swmlac.org.uk
South East Museums Libraries and Archives Council (SEMLAC)
www.semlac.org.uk
Yorkshire Museums Libraries and Archives Council (YMLAC)
www.ymlac.org.uk
Other Museum and Culture Organisations
Arts Council
www.artscouncil.org.uk
The national development agency for the arts in England.
Group for Education in Museums (GEM)
www.gem.org.uk
A national membership organisation promoting the importance of learning through museums and galleries
Heritage Lottery Fund
www.hlf.org.uk
The grant making body that distributes money from the National Lottery to the heritage sector.
AIM (Association of Independent Museums)
www.museums.org.uk/aim
An association representing independent museums throughout the UK, representing their interests and encouraging new standards.
Government departments with a responsibility for museums, galleries and learning.
Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)
www.culture.gov.uk
Department for Education and Skills (DfES)
www.dfes.gov.uk
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